Pediococcus is a genus of gram-positive lactic acid bacteria, placed within the family Lactobacillaceae. They usually occur in pairs or tetrads, and divide along two planes of symmetry, as do the other lactic acid cocci genera Aerococcus and Tetragenococcus. They are purely homofermentative.

Food processing

Pediococcus is, along with other lactic acid bacteria such as Leuconostoc and Lactobacillus, responsible for the fermentation of cabbage, making it sauerkraut. In this process, the sugars in fresh cabbage are fermented to lactic acid, which gives sauerkraut a sour flavour and good keeping qualities.

Pediococcus bacteria are usually considered contaminants of beer and wine, Certain Pediococcus isolates produce diacetyl which gives a buttery or butterscotch aroma to some wines (such as Chardonnay) and a few styles of beer. Pediococcus species are often used in silage inoculants. Pediococci are used as probiotics, and are commonly added as beneficial microbes in the creation of sausages, cheeses and yogurts.

Species

The genus Pediococcus comprises the following species:

  • Pediococcus acidilactici <small>Lindner 1887 (Approved Lists 1980)</small>
  • Pediococcus argentinicus <small>De Bruyne et al. 2008</small>
  • Pediococcus cellicola <small>Zhang et al. 2005</small>
  • Pediococcus claussenii <small>Dobson et al. 2002</small>
  • Pediococcus damnosus <small>Claussen 1903 (Approved Lists 1980)</small>
  • Pediococcus ethanolidurans <small>Liu et al. 2006</small>
  • Pediococcus inopinatus <small>Back 1988</small>
  • Pediococcus parvulus <small>Günther and White 1961 (Approved Lists 1980)</small>
  • Pediococcus pentosaceus <small>Mees 1934 (Approved Lists 1980)</small>
  • "Pediococcus perniciosus" <small>Claussen 1903</small> nom. inval.
  • Pediococcus siamensis <small>Tanasupawat et al. 2007</small>
  • Pediococcus stilesii <small>Franz et al. 2006</small>

Former members:

  • "Pediococcus dextrinicus" reclassified as Lapidilactobacillus dextrinicus.

Phylogeny

The currently accepted taxonomy is based on the List of Prokaryotic names with Standing in Nomenclature

References

Further reading

  • Pediococcus at Milk the Funk Wiki
  • Pediococcus at BacDive - the Bacterial Diversity Metadatabase